The present invention generally pertains to apparatus for extracting corks from bottles, and more particularly, to the type of apparatus generally shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,276,789, 4,291,597, 4,377,096 and 4,429,444 of the present inventor. The excellence of cork extractors made in accord with said prior patents has been highly acclaimed by numerous persons, both experts and ordinary consumers alike. The present invention provides certain improvements of particular value to those, such as waiters, caterers, flight attendants and the like, who must sometimes open a relatively large number of bottles of wine in fairly quick succession and/or who need to carry the cork-extracting apparatus on their persons, although the present invention is also suitable for more ordinary use.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,276,789 and 4,291,597 disclose the type of apparatus to which the present invention is applied. Such apparatus includes a helical corkscrew with a handle attached thereto. A holder is provided for engaging a bottle to be opened and positioning and guiding the corkscrew in its movements with respect to such bottle and the cork therein. The device is operated by first driving the corkscrew into the cork by simultaneous rotation and downward movement relative to the holder. When the handle comes into abutment with the top of the holder, thereby preventing further downward movement, the corkscrew will have its lower portion driven into the cork and its upper portion extending upwardly from the top of the bottle into a cork-receiving space provided in the holder. Then, upon continued rotation of the corkscrew in the same direction in which it was driven into the cork, but without further downward movement, the cork is caused to climb threadedly upwardly on the helical corkscrew out of the bottle and into the aforementioned cork-receiving space in the holder.
The downward movement of the corkscrew into the cork, and more importantly, the subsequent threaded climbing of the cork on the corkscrew, are made dramatically easy by a friction-reducing coating, such as a polytetrafluoroethylene, provided on the corkscrew.
Because the aforementioned mode of operation necessitates the passage of the pointed tip of the corkscrew completely through the cork and out through its lower end, that tip is specially formed so that, when it passes through the bottom of the cork, it will not tend to break off fragments of cork which could then fall into the wine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,096 discloses a further improvement in such corkscrews wherein catch means are provided adjacent the cork-receiving space engageable with the cork as it emerges from the bottle to prevent it from rotating. This ensures the complete withdrawal of the cork from the bottle by the aforementioned threaded climbing movement on the corkscrew, so that not even a little bit of vertical pulling by the user is necessary, even with very hard and/or tight corks.
A so-called "pocket model" of the aforementioned type of cork extractor has been marketed. In this pocket model, the handle was removably mountable on the corkscrew by emplacing a socket in the handle downwardly over an upstanding hub at the upper end of the corkscrew. The socket and hub were generally of square cross-sectional configuration, so that torque could be transmitted between the handle and the corkscrew. The handle also had a lengthwise bore so that, when removed from the aforementioned hub, it could be emplaced lengthwise over the lower part of the corkscrew, thereby placing the apparatus in a more compact form for carrying in one's pocket or the like, while at the same time, providing a sheath to cover the pointed tip of the corkscrew and prevent it tearing the user's pocket.
In all of the aforementioned devices, the handle and corkscrew together make up a generally T-shaped assembly. The user operates the device by grasping the handle, turning it one "half-turn," i.e. approximately 180.degree., then releasing the handle and repositioning his hand for another half turn. This mode of operation is very natural and comfortable for the user, and may be perfectly acceptable for ordinary household use, wherein only one bottle of wine is opened at a given time, and there is no particular need for great speed in opening such bottle. However, as mentioned, waiters and other such specialized users may sometimes desire a faster operation.
Some prior art devices intended to be operated essentially by continuous rotation of a corkscrew or assembly including such corkscrew have been provided with cranks. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 427,099, 276,804 and 35,362. However, as can be appreciated, such cranks involve the assembly of several parts which increases the expense of the apparatus. Furthermore, because a bottle of wine must generally be held upright while opening it, and because the crank of such a device must therefore revolve in a generally horizontal plane, the knob of the crank is disposed on a vertical rotational axis and it is neither natural nor comfortable for the user to grip the knob in such position and effect a circular movement in a generally horizontal plane. Furthermore, such knobs and other features of such prior art cranks have made such devices unsuitable for those who need a compact device which can be easily carried in a pocket or otherwise on one's person.
Other devices, exemplified in the disclosure of French Pat. No. 1,201,854, have been made with removable handles, and in some instances, those handles have been made hollow so that they can slip lengthwise over the corkscrew helix when not in use. However, these handles have been secured to their respective corkscrews by being passed horizontally through an appropriate socket, closed in the vertical direction. This enabled an upward pull to be exerted on the corkscrew by the handle, but did not permit the transfer of radial forces.
Still other corkscrews or cork extracting apparatus have had handles having apertures therein oriented so that the user could insert a finger through the aperture and pull upwardly on the corkscrew. Examples are shown on pages 17, 20-28, 37, 40-41, 61, 65, 98, 101, 105 of the book Corkscrews for Collectors by Bernard M. Watney and Homer D. Babbidge, Sotheby Parke Bernet, N.Y., 1981.